Conventionally, storage apparatuses have been known, which are mounted loadably and ejectably in a condition where box-shaped objects such as batteries and IC cards are stored.
For example, the battery storage apparatus of Japanese Published Examined Utility Model Application No. 03-34048 is capable of storing two types of batteries, a lithium battery pack and an S-006P type battery, which is smaller than the lithium battery pack in external dimensions. The S-006P type battery, which is formed to fit the external shape of the lithium battery pack, is positioned to one side when it is inserted into the battery storage compartment by a side pressing member capable of elastically deforming and is pressed to be fixed by a top pressing member provided on a lid body.
However, the configuration disclosed by Japanese Published Examined Utility Model Application No. 03-34048 does not show how the battery is ejected and it is assumed that the battery drops out by its own weight when the lid body is opened, thus suggesting a need for improvements in usability. If the battery positioning is allowed to be determined by an elastically deforming member, the elastically deforming member is easily plastically deformed when a shock load is applied to the device or a load is applied to the battery, while, on the other hand, if the rigidity of the elastically deforming member is increased, a large force is required in loading the battery, thus resulting in poor usability.
The connector device of Japanese Published Laid-open Patent Application No. 02-260379 is capable of connecting multiple types of cards to a housing, for example, IC cards of different thicknesses having connector pins with one, two or three rows of contact holes of a connector device provided in a housing. While an IC card has a plurality of grooves, the housing has a plurality of protrusions that fit with the respective grooves and curved movable plates that elastically deform and press in the direction that cross with the inserting direction of the IC card in order to prevent insertion errors.
However, Japanese Published Laid-open Patent Application No. 02-260379 does not show the configuration for ejecting the card, so that there is a need for improvements in unloading. It also requires a specific shape of grooves on the object causing a problem of poor versatility.
The battery storage apparatus of Japanese Published Examined Patent Application No. 06-32393 is provided with a groove on the surface of the battery and a lock lever having a locking piece in the storage compartment to engage with said groove. When loading the battery, the insertion of the battery into the storage compartment causes the urged lock lever to turn to cause the locking piece to be engaged with the groove. When the inserting pressing force is removed at this point, the distal end of the battery will be pressed by the spring provided in the storage compartment in the direction opposite the insertion direction, causing the locking piece to engage with and locked to the groove so that the battery will remain locked in position. In unloading the battery, although an ejection button is provided, since an elastic member is provided between the ejection button and the lock lever, in a state where the locking piece is engaged with and locked to the groove, the elastic member is deformed and the lock is not released while pressing the ejection button. In order to release the lock, it is necessary to press the ejection button simultaneously with pressing the battery in the insertion direction so that the locking piece can be released from the groove.
The configuration of Japanese Published Examined Patent Application No. 06-32393 shows a configuration to unload batteries, but it does not show a configuration for holding the battery in a partially ejected condition, so that the operator has to support the unlocked battery with fingers, which means that there is a need for improvements in usability. Moreover, this configuration does not show how to load a plurality of batteries with different shapes.
The battery holding structure of Japanese Patent No. 3088349 provides a means for preventing the battery cover of a cellular phone from falling off by means of providing a hooking rib and a battery recess on the battery, and a rear case recess and a battery holder in the battery storage compartment of the rear case of the cellular phone. The battery is loaded in the battery storage compartment with the hooking rib being engaged with the rear case recess, and, as the battery cover is attached to the rear case, a battery fixing rib provided on the battery cover presses the battery holder to cause the battery holder to engage with the battery recess to fix the battery. On the other hand, the unloading of the battery requires pressing of the push button, which causes the battery cover to be removed from the rear case and the battery holder to disengage from the battery recess, allowing the battery to be removed.
However, Japanese Patent No. 3088349 shows no configuration for holding the battery in a partially ejected state. Moreover, this configuration does not show how to load a plurality of batteries with different shapes.
In the case of a vacuum cleaner of Japanese Published Examined Utility Model Application No. 64-6763, a pair of battery projection parts is protrudingly provided on the side of the battery, a pair of battery holding ribs is provided in the battery storage compartment of the main body extending along the battery insertion direction, and a plurality of protrusions are provided on each battery holding rib at a predetermined interval in the battery insertion direction. When loading a battery, is removed the battery cap, and the battery is pressed in while aligning the battery holding ribs between the battery projection parts. At this time, the protrusions abut against the battery projection parts and the battery holding ribs deform elastically. On the other hand, in order to remove the battery, the battery cap in a direction in which the battery falls out is removed and the main body is tilted to move the battery to slide out by its own weight. Then, the battery stops when the battery projection parts abut against the protrusions, and the battery is ready to be pulled out by hand at this point.
However, since the load resistance caused by the elastic deformation of the permanently fixed battery holding ribs are used for preventing the battery from dropping in the configuration of Japanese Published Examined Utility Model Application No. 64-6763, a high load resistance at the time of insertion is a problem. Also, since it does not provide a structure for moving the battery in an ejecting direction, rather it relies on the gravity for moving the battery, it is necessary to tilt the main body for removing the battery, presenting a problem of poor usability. Additionally, it does not disclose any configuration for loading a plurality of batteries of different shapes and it is only usable for a battery with battery projection parts that are aligned with the battery holding ribs.
The battery loading and unloading mechanism according to Japanese Published Examined Utility Model Application No. 06-44023 is designed for loading and unloading a battery pack into a battery charger, and the battery pack storage compartment is equipped with a battery frame that abuts against the distal surface of the battery inserted from an insertion port and a slide lever that protrudes at the insertion port and abuts against the rear end surface of the battery. The battery frame is urged in the battery ejecting direction by springs. A knob is connected to the slide lever, and the slide lever is urged by a spring attached to the knob in the direction projecting it to the insertion port. The insertion port is equipped with a cover that is mounted in the inside of the battery pack storage compartment in a rotatable manner pressed by the battery, so that it can cover the insertion port when the battery is not loaded. In loading the battery, the knob is operated against the urging force of the spring and the battery is pressed in through the insertion port together with the battery frame resisting the urging force of the spring while the slide lever is retracted from the insertion port. When the battery is loaded into the battery pack storage compartment completely to the rear end surface of the battery, the slide lever protrudes into the insertion port to be locked with the rear end surface of the battery, thus holding the battery in a locked condition. In order to unload the battery, the knob is operated against the urging force of the spring to retract the slide lever from the insertion port, so that the battery is partially ejected together with the battery frame due to the urging force of the spring.
However, this configuration of Japanese Published Examined Utility Model Application No. 06-44023 does not show how to load a plurality of batteries with different shapes. Moreover, it is necessary to operate the knob to retract the slide lever from the insertion port, presenting a problem of a complicated operation. It also presents a problem of ejecting the battery where the battery can pop out unless the insertion port is facing upward, as there is no configuration to hold the battery in a condition partially ejected from the battery frame.
As can be seen from the above, the conventional configurations capable of loading multiple types of objects and guiding the objects with guiding members capable of elastic deformations have problems where the guiding members tend to cause plastic deformation under impact so that it is difficult to hold the objects in a stable manner if the rigidity of the guiding members is low, while it requires a large force in loading and results in poor usability if the rigidity of the guiding members is high. Also, while it is required to have a configuration that is capable of loading multiple types of objects and of loading and unloading the objects with ease, the simple combination of providing the capability of supporting multiple types of objects and improved usability tend to cause the structure to become complicated and raise the manufacturing cost and also cause a problem of making the device large in size.
The present invention was made considering these problems and is intended to provide a storage apparatus that is capable of loading multiple types of objects, loading and unloading the objects with excellent usability with a simple structure.